My parents and I had been talking about doing a trip during the Day of the Dead after we got to see some of it’s celebrations during a visit to Mexico City in 2017. This year Day of the Dead, which is on November 2, landed on a Saturday, so we decided to do a trip to Central Mexico to experience it.
We started our trip bright and early on Halloween and after two hours of driving north from Mexico City, we saw a strange looking mountain in the distance. We detoured towards it and ended up in the town San Sebastian Bernal. The strange looking mountain ended up being la Peña de Bernal, one of the largest monoliths in the world.
The town is considered a Pueblo Magico in Mexico, mainly due to it’s cultural richness and impressive natural beauty of it’s surroundings. We ended up spending the afternoon touring the town, eating its local foods, and learning about its history.
The afternoon drive to Queretaro was amazing. Perfect weather through back roads and tiny little towns. It reminded me of riding the monkey bike through villages in Morocco. We arrived to Queretaro at dusk.
After dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we went for an evening stroll through the old city of Queretaro. We were very impressed by how well kept many of the colonial structures were as well as by the size and quantity of old mansions around. We eventually learned that Queretaro was a very affluent city in New Spain and that it was a very important city in The Mexican War of Independence.
Strolling through the cobbled streets and plazas, we got experience Halloween in a major Mexican city center. The city was vibrant, filled with kids trick or treating dressed as catrines, catrinas, princesses, and superheroes as well as altars for the dead both outside and inside. It was a very pleasing evening walk.
The next morning we woke up bright and early and set out to find traditional Gorditas for breakfast. A Gordita is a pastry made with masa and stuffed with cheese, meat, or other fillings. After asking around, we headed to the Mercado Municipal to find Gorditas el Guero, a local street food joint.
We arrived at el Guero and it was packed with people getting their breakfast before heading to work. We knew instantly it was going to be great. The pastries were fried to perfection.
After breakfast we walked around the old city, marveling at how well kept its streets, churches, mansions, and plazas were. I am glad the government puts a lot of emphasis on ensuring this place keeps it’s historical identity as time passes. I had also never seen so many catholic churches in my life. It felt like there was one in every corner.
Around lunch time, we grabbed our stuff and headed to San Miguel de Allende. We realized upon arriving that the festivities were out in full force. The hotel was vibrant with people dressed up and getting heir faces painted. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. We checked in, got dressed and headed towards the town. We stumbled upon Oli Tapas on it’s inauguration day and had an amazing meal by Balearic chef Vicente Torres.
After an amazing tapas meal, we walked around the old town. The streets were packed with locals and tourists alike getting their faces painted, dancing to Banda and Mariachis, eating, drinking and having a great time.
On the Day of the Dead we woke up leisurely and decided to head to some local thermal baths. It was a wonderful morning. After visiting the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, we headed to one of San Miguel de Allende’s local cemeteries.
As we approached the local cemetery, we parked our car and started walking towards the entrance. I thought I was about to enter a large outdoor festival. Hundreds of people carrying coolers, lawn chairs, food baskets, and even a guy carrying a large speaker. There were many vendors outside the entrance selling flowers but also snacks and drinks. It was definitely a culture shock. As we walked in we saw families and friends clustered around tombs, chatting, having drinks and food, laughing, praying. There were even families speaking to the dead as if they were there. It was a surreal sight.
As we quietly walked around observing, I felt the heaviness of the place. But I didn’t feel sad. I mainly felt that I wish my own culture had this tradition. It was beautiful to see families remembering their loved ones in different ways. We even got to see a family bring a 15 piece band to their loved one.
I was in awe by the uniqueness of this tradition. I learned later that in traditional Mexican culture, a person truly dies only when they are forgotten, not when they depart the physical world.
We spent the drive back to the hotel processing the powerful experience we had just lived through. After a slow and delicious dinner at Spice Market in the hotel, we headed out to watch the Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev boxing fight. It was awesome to be surrounded by Mexicans while watching Canelo knock out Kovalev in the 11th round.
After the fight we headed to a party, where a digital altar was setup to remember lost ones. I had arranged with the artist to have my late grandmother be part of the altar. It was a very emotional moment, especially for my father.
The next morning we started our journey home. It was a short but sweet time in Central Mexico. I got to spend some quality time with mother and father, something that I cherish deeply since I left home 14 years ago. If you ever want to experience a culturally rich place during a very unique time, Central Mexico during Dia de los Muertos is a fantastic choice.
